COMPASSION IS THE VICE OF KING

An article Im working on- beta version:

131

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COMPASSION IS THE VICE OF KINGS


Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law

The problem of right conduct as espoused in the ‘Book of the Law’ must be a central one for all Thelemites. Of course, the truth of ‘One’s True Will’ is the final word, but as a document, The Book of the Law (Liber AL) is often misperceived, misunderstood and misinterpreted. I’m sure this is not news to anyone who knows what I’m talking about. There are many references to bloodshed, killing and torture. Like: Al.III.11:

“This shall be your only proof. I forbid argument. Conquer! That is enough. I will make easy to you the abstruction from the ill-ordered house in the Victorious City. Thou shalt thyself convey it with worship, o prophet, though thou likest it not. Thou shalt have danger & trouble. Ra-Hoor-Khu is with thee. Worship me with fire & blood; worship me with swords & with spears. Let the woman be girt with a sword before me: let blood flow to my name. Trample down the Heathen; be upon them, o warrior, I will give you of their flesh to eat!”

etc etc.

Amongst the concepts of Kingship and the Warrior-way lurks the supposed fire of implied fascist ideology and totalitarianism that some so-called Thelemites, even today, espouse, using Liber AL as their justification and ‘proof.’ This is the ‘might makes right’ social Darwinism of the slave gods and, hopefully, those so called fundamentalist ‘Thelemites’ who follow this line of reasoning and are thus led to a belief in a doctrine of Thelemites ruling over masses of ignorant slaves are ‘not of us.’

It is my opinion that the key to ‘right action’ running through AL is encoded in the word COMPASSION (Communal-Passion). It is most clearly stated in AL. II. 21:

“ We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit: let them die in their misery. For they feel not. Compassion is the vice of kings: stamp down the wretched & the weak: this is the law of the strong: this is our law and the joy of the world. Think not, o king, upon that lie: That Thou Must Die: verily thou shalt not die, but live. Now let it be understood: If the body of the King dissolve, he shall remain in pure ecstasy for ever. Nuit! Hadit! Ra-Hoor-Khuit! The Sun, Strength & Sight, Light; these are for the servants of the Star & the Snake.”

Yet, the crucial announcement that Compassion is the vice of Kings (and this is a profound call to such ‘kings’) seems to be contradicted by the violence then described. Or does it?

Later ‘Hadit’ says in AL.II.52:

“ There is a veil: that veil is black. It is the veil of the modest woman; it is the veil of sorrow, & the pall of death: this is none of me. Tear down that lying spectre of the centuries: veil not your vices in virtuous words: these vices are my service; ye do well, & I will reward you here and hereafter…”

As a Thelemite, I am a King. Compassion is my ‘vice’ and this ‘vice’ is in the service of Hadit unto Nuit. Hadit being the inner core of my being, my Guardian Spirit as it were, this makes sense. It is through the active actions of Compassion that Hadit is brought forth in my life on a daily basis. It is wrong to veil this Compassion in ‘virtuous words’ (bullshit, prevaricating, words-not-deeds) because it then becomes labeled as ‘altruism’ or ‘charity’ or ‘paternalism’ which is NOT what Hadit is saying. So what is the point here? Let’s start with a few words and their real roots. All quotes from the very excellent http://www.etymonline.com/ :

Let’s start with VICE, a word used very positively throughout AL. If Compassion is the chief Vice of Kings, what is this about?

VICE:L. vitium "defect, offense, blemish, imperfection," in both physical and moral senses (cf. It. vezzo "usage, entertainment").

Thus we can consider the fact that, to the world at large, the vice of Compassion is seen as a defect or, more appropriately, an imperfection. In other words, the attitude of balanced (and, detached) Compassion seems odd to those who are egocentric and immersed in the attraction/repulsion world of samsara. It is also nice to see that the word is rooted in Entertainment, inferring that it is a joy and ecstasy for the KING to exist in a state of enlightened Compassion.

So, what of this word KING?

“KING ; O.E. cyning, from P.Gmc. *kuninggaz (cf. Du. koning, O.H.G. kuning, O.N. konungr, Dan. konge, Ger. könig). Possibly related to O.E. cynn "family, race" (see kin), making a king originally a "leader of the people;" … Lith. kunigas "clergyman" are loans from Gmc.”

Note the connection between Kin and King and (!) Clergyman (Heirophant?) We could say it goes all the way back to the ancient prehistoric Shaman-Tribal leader and this ‘office’ is referred to in AL as ‘priest king.’ The gist is this- if you have a direct connection to the divine gnosis, this lays certain responsibilities on you as a ‘KINg.’ A King would not, in this manner, slaughter his or her own people! So what is this war-like attitude all about?

Quotes like:

“We have nothing with the outcast and the unfit: let them die in their misery”

or

“Trample down the Heathen; be upon them, o warrior, I will give you of their flesh to eat!”


What are the ‘outcast’ and the ‘unfit’ and the ‘heathen’? Buddhism (and Taoism before that) has the most obvious answer. They are the ‘demons’ or ‘shadows’ self-created of our fragmented and ego-centered Mind. To quote a bit of Buddhist theology from http://www.experiencefestival.com :

“ (In meditation, when)Encountering demons, kill the demons, encountering Buddhas, kill the Buddhas." Both demons and Buddhas are mind-made, Mind-Only.”

If AL is a Tantra or Sutra of the new aeon (my overall thesis) then its worth lies in its ability to coach us through the radical spiritual path to direct gnosis and plug in to spiritual current here and now. It is about self development and, clearly states, that the cultivation of Compassion is key to that magickal progress for the current Priest/ess-Kings/Shamans- that is, us adepts.

The real enemies are not external, one should not be viewing one’s ‘kin’ as cattle or the unfit, but instead should be looking within and become engaged in ‘stamping down’ the neuroses, slave-programming and ego-centeredness that lurk within the real temple, our Mind. If all is illusion and, as Nuit says, “there is no difference between any one thing and any other thing” then the outer world is a reflection of the Mind. Everything we seek is in the MIND and the real work, the real battles and fighting and conquests will be inner. In this way we will also affect and change our OUTER world. This is far more efficient than striking out at everything that pushes our buttons or offends us. Worse is using ‘Thelema’ to craft a superior and arrogant ‘I’m a king’ attitude that is merely ego-based and thus inherently false and entrapping and, in the end, self defeating. The ‘outcast and unfit’ are within and the true work is the inner struggle, the inner alchemy or ‘great work.’ In fact, Hadit in AL declares this as the working principle of Thelemic spiritual work. AL.II.5:

“Behold! the rituals of the old time are black. Let the evil ones be cast away; let the good ones be purged by the prophet! Then shall this Knowledge go aright.”

If the old rituals = old slavish programming and false dogma and the ‘good ones’ are be seen as the inner archetypes (gods) and the Prophet = the adept and Knowledge = Gnosis, then the meaning is clear.

The next step, when one has stomped and subdued and ‘cast away’ one’s ‘enemies’ and ‘old programming’ and ‘inner demons,’ seems to be the further cultivation of Compassion as a Sadhana or spiritual practice according to AL.
What is this Compassion?

It infers ‘sympathetic consciousness of other distress together with a spiritual desire to alleviate it,’ or so says Webster’s Dictionary. The root of the word comes from compassionem (nom. compassio) meaning "sympathy", it also means to ‘suffer together.’ And this makes complete sense if the title of ‘King’ or ‘adept’ is accepted by a Thelemite. Keep in mind that, once again dipping into Buddhist and Taoist theology, this does NOT mean pity or mawkishness or some sort of caste system differentiating peoples. It is clearly stated by Nuit in AL.I.22 :

“…Since I am Infinite Space, and the Infinite Stars thereof, do ye also thus. Bind nothing! Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt.”

In other words, it is NON ATTACHMENT (equipoise as it were) that is the key to spiritual Compassion. It is a compassion of non-attachment, ego-less but open. One description of this kind of Compassion (borrowed from the Dalai Lama) is this:

“Compassion thus refers to an unselfish, de-tached emotion which gives one a sense of urgency in wanting to help others.”

Why? Why care about ‘others’? The answer is, in short, enlightened ‘Self’ interest. Because of the common experience all spiritual adventurers have of ‘being one with the universe’ every adept ‘knows’ that any suffering in the world hurts all people, that injury to one part of the Universal Consciousness is also literally self harm. AL does not advocate that we see ourselves as above or separate from humanity, it is the opposite. It is ‘division hither homeward’ that is the problem. The solution is awakening to the essential unity of all things- thus Compassion blooms. As Nuit says so perfectly: “Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt.” This is the origin of all suffering.

The point is this; Human evolution is the business of all adepts. All who claim the mantle of ‘few and secret’ priest/ess-kings of Thelema also take the role of spiritual mentor (Guru- ‘light from darkness’- If you will) and though the slaves shall serve, they are not there to serve US, they serve their own demons, their own failed dogmas and ‘rituals of the old time’ and weaknesses and insecurities. This is not cause to despise such slaves, they are a necessary part of the Universal Consciousnes as well. It isn’t all ‘sweetness and light’ and that is for sure! Sympathy is real knowledge (gnosis), this is the root of Compassion and an active Compassion is called for because we have been through those battles of the ego/mind/conditioning and have emerged with the Fire from Heaven of direct Gnosis and can therefore, from a state of detached Compassion, help others learn how to alleviate their suffering. Though unlike most Buddhists, this may not always be in a peaceful and all-embracing manner. We are Thelemites after all.

Militant Zen offers a better model in terms of this for Thelemites, where the ‘short path’ may involve shocks, a few slaps, an intensive and sometimes aggressive focus on HELPING PEOPLE WAKE UP. To hijack a phrase, Thelema can and should be in practice akin to a kind of Punk Zen. Thus is ‘force and fire’ a tool of Compassion in this aeon.

Still, this active Compassion does seem, on the surface, to be contradictory to some of more aggressive individualist instructions in AL, but in the end, it does make sense. If every man and woman is a star, isn’t our mission to reflect to every person we encounter his or her ‘star-ness by being the Star we are?’ Crowley himself upon several occasions noted that if everyone were doing his or her own ‘True Will’ that there would be little or no conflict in the world. Every person not doing his or her True Will is suffering, of this there is no doubt. To these confused and unhappy Kin, we are called upon to be compassionate. Also for ourselves, because people not doing their Will often make it hard for people who are. Still, as mentioned, compassion may entail, like the Zen master wielding the staff or the Guru swinging the Dandi -stick, ‘striking low’ and awaking someone to the fact that they are in ‘hell.’ A hell (like all hells) of their own making, which, if they strive, they can unlock, with the key of their Will. Is this not Love under Will? Seriously, does any Thelemite have anything better to do?

Yet if a so-called ‘Thelemite’ falls into the ‘pit of because’ (the ego-centered state) and attacks or harms another from a false sense of superiority or entitlement due to lack of intensive ‘inner’ work, then he or she is ‘damned for a dog’ and there is no doubt of this in AL. If nothing else, it is clear in AL that to call oneself a Thelemite requires tremendous effort, spiritual practice, self examination and discipline. ‘Jack-Thelemites’ who have a superficial knowledge of the book and use the apparent inflammatory rhetoric in AL to further their own self aggrandizement or to mock or manipulate others for selfish or weak or angry reasons will find a special punishment. AL is not a gentle book and does not suffer fools, only Fools. Where there is no love towards fellow humans, there is hell. As Nuit says in AL.I.41:

“…There is no bond that can unite the divided but love: all else is a curse. Accursed! Accursed be it to the aeons! Hell.”

Thelema teaches total responsibility. Awareness, becoming ‘enlightened’ or manifesting oneself as a Star comes with duty. The sword of being a Thelemite has two edges and only a compassionless being strikes out of fear, and fear is the psychological root of violence. It is the mask of ego-attachment and arrogance. Hadit makes it clear that ‘Where fear is, I am not’ as well as to ‘fear neither men nor gods…’ thus giving a vital clue to the clear and detached state of consciousness a Thelemite should be aiming for.

However, Thelema is not Buddhism, it does not call for ‘turning the other cheek’ or simply being passive in the face of injustice. There is no reliance on karma or reincarnation per se. Death is not to be feared and there is ecstasy in the end, the rest is about being here now and operating from a place of Compassion not for merit but for freedom. Freedom does need to be defended.

Al states that you should turn on anyone who attacks you ‘like a serpent’ and neutralize the threat. Yet this must be done with Love under Will, not simply by force of Will. We must ‘love one another with burning hearts’, with passion should we live our lives, in joy and beauty, showing others by our aesthetic example that a life of ecstasy and ‘True Will’ is not only possible but necessary! The slave masters, the dangerous ones and unconscious, mean little clones that promote suffering and self-centerness, these the forces of evolution smash with force and fire in this aeon, but not because they bother us or because they are mean, rather because they hinder the birthright of humanity, the becoming of free STARS.

It is NOT our duty to force people into becoming stars (!!), or to punish people for not evolving fast enough for us. Our work is the Inner Work; this is then reflected in our Outer Work. Things are the way they are. We are not to remake the world but to be midwives and mentors to those evolving. There is no grand Thelemic call to arms, quite the contrary. Thelema isn’t a label nor can one ‘convert,’ one is either an awakening Star or Not. It ISN’T a religion but a state of hard-won awareness. The whole point isn’t that we are to ‘shape’ or ‘convert’ people, but the daily Work is to just be aware and help others, out of Compassion, to become aware and awake to what already IS, or as Hadit says in AL.II.58:

“Yea! deem not of change: ye shall be as ye are, & not other. Therefore the kings of the earth shall be Kings for ever: the slaves shall serve. There is none that shall be cast down or lifted up: all is ever as it was. Yet there are masked ones my servants: it may be that yonder beggar is a King. A King may choose his garment as he will: there is no certain test: but a beggar cannot hide his poverty.”

As adepts we aim to be the incarnate ‘prophets’ and ‘priest/ess/kings’ of evolutionary shift and progress. This is an awesome responsibility and being ‘few and secret’ it is not our destiny to ‘rule’ over people politically (yuck!) but to offer Compassion and Love and Will by act, word and deed so that they can do what we strive to do; rule over none but ourselves as stars. In this way we may offer by example a path that others may choose or not, the path of True Will or Thelema.

“…Then they shall chance to abide in this bliss or no; it is no odds. Do this quickly!” -AL.II. 39

Love is the Law, Love Under Will

Aion 131
Written 2/16/88, revised and added to 12/29/09



'Compassion and love are not mere luxuries. 
As the source both of inner and external peace, 
they are fundamental to the continued survival of our species.'

-His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama



Some Gematria Notes: COMPASSION = (with various spellings)
* = from Sepher AL
** = Hebrew, from Sepher Sepheroth

KOMPASSION - 461 = Resinous, Victorious *
KUMPASSION - 397 = Internal Light (Kether)**
KOMPASHION - 641 = Lights**
KUMPASHION - 577 = Ra Hoor Khu* Concealed of the Concealed (God) **
CHOMPASSION - 449 = Prophet, Winged Secret Flame, As Shadows * Cloak **